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Elusive effects of unemployment on happiness

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Author Info

  • Petri Böckerman

    (Labour Institute for Economic Research)

  • Pekka Ilmakunnas

    (Helsinki School of Economics)

Abstract

This paper explores the connection between unemployment and subjective well-being in Finland by using cross-sections for the years 1990, 1996 and 2000 from World Values Surveys. An unprecedented increase in the national unemployment rate (from 3 to 17 per cent) did not produce a drop in the mean level of subjective well-being. Experiencing unemployment personally reduces life satisfaction, but does not have a significant effect on happiness in ordered logit estimation. However, generalized ordered logit estimation reveals that being unemployed has a negative effect on happiness at lower happiness scores, but no significant effect at high happiness levels.

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File URL: http://128.118.178.162/eps/lab/papers/0504/0504008.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Labor and Demography with number 0504008.

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Length: 16 pages
Date of creation: 19 Apr 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpla:0504008

Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 16
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Web page: http://128.118.178.162

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Keywords: happiness; unhappiness; life satisfaction; unemployment;

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References

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  1. Petri Böckerman & Pekka Ilmakunnas, 2006. "Elusive Effects of Unemployment on Happiness," Social Indicators Research, Springer, vol. 79(1), pages 159-169, October.
  2. Lindbeck, Assar & Nyberg, Sten & Weibull, Jörgen W., 1997. "Social Norms and Economic Incentives in the Welfare State," Working Paper Series 476, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
  3. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2000. "Well-Being Over Time in Britain and the USA," NBER Working Papers 7487, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  4. Andrew E. Clark & Yannis Georgellis, 2002. "Unemployment Alters the Set-Point for Life Satisfaction," Economics and Finance Discussion Papers 02-16, Economics and Finance Section, School of Social Sciences, Brunel University.
  5. Easterlin, Richard A, 2001. "Income and Happiness: Towards an Unified Theory," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(473), pages 465-84, July.
  6. Robert J. MacCulloch & Rafael Di Tella & Andrew J. Oswald, 2001. "Preferences over Inflation and Unemployment: Evidence from Surveys of Happiness," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 335-341, March.
  7. Clark, Andrew E & Oswald, Andrew J, 1994. "Unhappiness and Unemployment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(424), pages 648-59, May.
  8. Winkelmann, Liliana & Winkelmann, Rainer, 1998. "Why Are the Unemployed So Unhappy? Evidence from Panel Data," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 65(257), pages 1-15, February.
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Cited by:
  1. Böckerman, Petri & Ilmakunnas, Pekka, 2007. "Unemployment and self-assessed health: Evidence from panel data," MPRA Paper 1798, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  2. Petri Böckerman & Pekka Ilmakunnas, 2005. "Elusive effects of unemployment on happiness," Labor and Demography 0504008, EconWPA.

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